God's Blessing Upon this Unfortunate Accident
by Herozombie1
Summary: Just another day of the daily explosion routine, I mean nothing could possibly go wrong right? I mean uhh right?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Editing: EddyBT

* * *

It was a quiet, peaceful afternoon, and things had been looking up as Sylphina had returned to Darkness' Mansion. It seemed as if nothing else was going to interrupt this peace.

Just as I thought about lazing the day away…

"Kazuma, Kazuma!", I heard Megumin calling.

Right, I had somehow forgotten about Megumin's daily explosion. With Aqua somewhere in town, and Darkness back at her home with Sylph, I guess I won't be able to nap the day away after all.

"Ah, let me guess, your daily explosion? Sorry, I kinda forgot…"

"Actually, while the explosion sounds nice, I was wondering if you'd like to walk around town with me? "

Oh? It'd be hard to turn this opportunity down, we've only had our one "date" so far and it turned into a family picnic thanks to Aqua tagging along. Besides, I can't stay inside all day with me being the only one around to accompany her for her daily explosion.

And hey, maybe this date could turn into more since the others aren't home? I could feel my face start burning up.

"A-Alright, s-sounds good to me, let me just get my s-stuff!"

I heard her giggle from across the room;

"I'll be waiting at the door Kazuma, don't take too long!"

She walked off with a wink.

We ended up going out for our 'date' through town, but not much was available to do today. Figures…

And so, we just ended up heading over to the guild and having lunch, ending the roam through town with a visit to the familiar debt ridden shop.

Just as we walked in, I heard:

"Muahahahahah, if it isn't the brat who played victim to a certain perverted crusader, but was actually looking forward to it, and his failure of an archmage who refuses to learn any useful magic!"

"Hey, who're you calling a failure? I haven't seen you do anything noteworthy recently!"

As they began to argue, I noticed Zereshrute sweeping on the other side of the store. He seemed to be in despair, probably due to Aqua coming in at some point during the day.

Seeing Zereshrute in this state, I decided to leave him alone.

"Anyways brat, before you go, I thought I'd offer you some advice- at a cost of course!"

I heard Vanir tell me this from across the store.

"What advice could you give me that wouldn't end with me becoming food for you? I'll pass and just get out of your hair."

"Ohho, it seems you are not so easily swayed, but I'll at least tell you this: you may want to watch your step these upcoming days, muahahah!"

He told me this with the most devilish grin he's shown in a while. I guess I'll be keeping that in mind.

"Anyways, we better not bother you any further. C'mon Megumin, let's start heading off to… eh?"

As I walked back towards the front of the store I looked over to see Megumin attacking Vanir while he shrugged off her attacks by dodging with ease using his fluid body.

"Not yet Kazuma, let me teach this masked freak a lesson!"

"Who're you calling a freak, you joke of a Crimson Demon?"

I decided to separate Megumin from him and gradually escorted her out of the shop. As I was slowly dragging her out, I could hear Vanir loudly laughing, but something was off about it. I had a bad feeling about what was to come.

And so, we continued on our walk to the usual explosion spot. Megumin was being strangely silent during the walk, until she eventually said:  
"About what that masked devil said earlier; he implied Explosion was a useless spell while teasing me. He's obviously wrong, but… well, I wanted to hear your opinion of the Explosion spell, and of me as a mage in general... Just so I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am the greatest mage in Axel!.. Heh..."

Oh? Now that she mentions it, I haven't really given my opinion on explosion magic since having her continue pursuing the spell, or told her how I feel about her as our archmage. I guess I should've known this was coming at some point, and I could tell it was bothering her. I should probably give her a straight answer:

"Well, my opinion on Explosion should be clear at this point as an explosion connoisseur. It's a spell you've used to toy with the Demon King's generals time and time again. It's saved all of us, so to say it's anything less than a saving grace would be a lie, and as an archmage, well, if there's a mage who can achieve better results than you can, I'd like to meet them."

At this point I could feel my face heating up, I can't say it was the easiest thing telling her that much about how I feel. Crap, maybe I said too much?

These thoughts quickly cleared up as I felt her arms wrap around me.

"Thanks… I just wanted that cleared up. I guess I'd just been thinking a bit too much recently and besides, you wouldn't want the greatest mage you've seen doubting herself would you?"

"Heh, of course not. Now let's get a move on, as much as I'm enjoying the embrace, we wouldn't want to get back too late."

And so after the second encounter today that's left my face red, we continued on, eventually reaching our explosion spot.

"Well, now that I know how you truly feel about explosion magic, I'll have to go all out for you today. I'm feeling at least 100 points!"

She began her usual chant, putting in more emphasis than usual. I could already tell this one's going to be big!

After an unusually long cast, I presume for show, a massive explosion shakes the distant land with a hot breeze and a thunderous aftershock rushing towards me.

"So… pant… what did you think of that one?"

"Well there was a perfect balance between destructive power, flair, and force, and the breeze that came off was just perfect, so I'll be giving it a full hundre…"

Just as I was about to finish my review, something ran out from in between the trees.

It was fast, and for some reason wasn't picked up by my Detect Enemy. It seemed panicked, and in its path was..!

I tried to stop the monster as it stampeded towards Megumin, but it's just too fast! I can't match it's speed!

"Hold on! Megumin I'm…"

And just like that, I felt my heart nearly stop.

Hello, I'm Satou Kazuma. I've spent well over a year in this new world, and yet something new, something horrifying has just happened to me that I had yet to experience.

One of my party members had just lost their life in front of my eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Part 1**

"Ugh, what… what just happened...?"

I slowly open my eyes and scan my unfamiliar surroundings

I seemed to be in a large, white room, with little to nothing in it. The only furniture present being the chair I was sitting in, some pillars, and a chair with someone unfamiliar sitting there, however it feels like I've seen them before...

Soon after me noticing her, she spoke up

"Hello, Megumin, not so long ago you died, and it's terribly unfortunate, especially at such a young age, but it seems that thanks to the efforts of one of your party members, it should only be temporary"

I stop to think for a second

Ah right, I died to some rampaging monster, wait if this is heaven then…

"Wait, are you Eris? THE Goddess Eris?"

"Why yes, I'm actually quite happy you recognize me, if you'd like, you can ask me anything while you wai-"

"Was I a Goddess of Destruction in a previous life!?"

Eris pauses for a moment at my question, probably pondering my question, or perhaps stunned at how awesome it was

"No you weren't a Goddess of destruction, actually you wer-"

"Can you see into the future!?"

"Well I can't, but there are some Goddesses that can see into the future, I've heard some demons ca-"

"What happens to our party in the future?"

"Didn't I just say that, ugh nevermind, do you perhaps have serious questions for me that I could answer?"

I pouted at her for thinking my previous questions weren't serious, then thought for a second… What's a good, _serious_, question I could ask Eris…

"Wait, what's happening to Kazuma right now?"

"Ah... Kazuma? Well right now he's-"

**Part 2**

"_Shit"_

"_Shit shit shit this isn't good"_

Okay Kazuma, just calm down, just… think about everything that has just happened. You started off the day thinking you wouldn't have to leave the mansion, eventually went on a date with Megumin, and now here I am standing over her lifeless body as whatever monster killed her is long gone

Okay so situation is still just as bad, if not worse than I originally thought

But I don't have time to panic, I need to think about what to do next. The only logical thing being to find Aqua and have Megumin revived, but where would she be?

And I would have to do something about Megumin first...

Ah, Aqua should be able to revive her at any point, so I should be able to leave her at the mansion and run around town looking for Aqua

Ok that sounds like a good plan, considering I'm too panicked to think of anything else. That being my only plan I'm alright with

As I start to rush her back to the Mansion, a thought dawns on my mind during the chaos, what was the monster doing there to begin with? And why wasn't didn't enemy detection go off?

I guess I don't have much time to worry about that now, and frankly compared to my current issues, are basically irrelevant

I just have to get Megumin back to the mansion so I can rush out and find Aqua

Now if I were Aqua, what would I be doing today of all days-

Oh of course, she's probably _there. _It is a sunday after all

Keeping in mind Aqua's likely location, I continue to rush towards the mansion

"_Wait for me, Megumin"_

**Part 3**

"Ah"

Eris continued on

"Kazuma is currently bringing you back to the mansion, so considering he still needs time to get lady Aqua it seems you'll be here for a little longer, is there anything you would like to talk about?"

Hmm, now that I know I have some time to talk to Eris I decide to think about my next question, what's an unanswered question I've had?

"Hey what do you know about Kazuma's home country?"

"Oh, not much I'm afraid, I don't interfere with wherever Kazuma came from, that'd be Senpai's job-"

"Oh just bring your Senpai here then"

The quick retort left Eris speechless, if only just for a moment, with her continuing quickly

"Well as I was about to say, Senpai isn't exactly… uhm, _available_ right now, so there isn't anyone who can answer your question at the momen-"

"Well where is she? What's she doing? Surely it must be something important as to ignore the pleas of a poor soul who just lost their can't be as heartless as to lie to me? What kind of Goddess can't even answer this simple plea?"

"Don't put it like that! It makes me feel guilty. I don't know exactly what she's doing right now, and I can't tell you who she is, as it may cause some issues-"

Just as Eris was about to finish with her excuses, Aqua's voice rung into the room, with Eris jumping at sudden yelling coming from her

"Oi, Eris, can you tell Kazuma to bug off for me? He won't listen and is insisting on dragging me back to the mansion, something about Megumin, keeps telling me to talk to you"

"Oh Senp-Aqua-Sama…ah well I kind of need you to go with him, Megumin needs to be revived soon, I can't have others waiting if anyone else passes while she's here"

"Wait what? Did something happen to Megumin?"

It seems Aqua can't see into this space, but can communicate through it, so I guess she hasn't noticed me yet

"Well yes I died, and I'd appreciate if you could go back to the mansion with Kazuma and revive me"

"Oh, sorry about that Megumin, I just assumed Kazuma was going on with his regular nonsense. I'm trying to expand my number of worshippers, it is the day for those pesky Eris cultists to attend mass, so it's the perfect opportunity to sway them over!"

Eris seemed to take issue with that last part

"Aqua-Senpai please don't bully my followers! And besides, you need to get back to the mansion, I don't have all day you know"

Eris looked back over at me, and seemed to get flustered, remembering I was here to begin with, must have gotten too wrapped up in fighting with Aqua

Now that I think about it, she referred to Aqua as her senpai, what was that about? Before I could ponder further, Aqua's voice rang back in

"Ow ow ow, Oi Kazuma stop pulling on my ear, I'll have you know you're going to suffer devine punishment for this, ow ow ow I'm going I'm going"

And just like that everything had gone quiet again

"Well, looks like you'll only have to wait a little longer, is there anything else you'd like to ask?

Hmm, she couldn't answer my question earlier about Kazuma's home country, so maybe...

"Well, about something that happened earlier today, with uhm… me and Kazuma"

I could see Eris tilt her head curiously from across the room

"Well, he told me how he feels about me as an arch mage, about explosion and everything, I was just wondering if what he said is what he really feels?"

Eris giggled from the other side of the room, quickly reassuring me

"Oh you shouldn't worry about that Megumin, what he told you _is_ how he feels about you, and how he's felt for a long time"

I felt relieved hearing this, but now a new question popped into my head

"Well how long has he felt that way?"

"Do you remember back when he had you continue pursuing explosion magic? Going against your wishes to learn advanced magic?"

I nodded

"Well I can't put my finger on when exactly, but that was when he truly decided to accept your quirks as an archmage, and your magic"

I sighed in relief

"Wait how did you know that, yet were unable to answer most of my other questions?" I retorted

"Well Goddesses aren't all-seeing, we can observe the world but can't keep track of everything that's happening"

"Well then how come you haven't been able to answer my other questions? And how do you know what Kazuma was thinking back then?

"Well I have been able to answer most of your questions Megumin, but you keep-"

"And Kazuma?"

"Well uhh, I've made sure to keep an eye on him, seeing as he's a _special case_"

What's that about Kazuma? I know he's revived more than once, which could be the reason for this, but I had a hunch it was something else

"Well what exactly makes him a _special case _that requires Eris' attention?"

Eris seemed panicked at my question

"Ah, W-Well I've said too much as it is on that subject, and I don't know all the details, so it's best left alone for now"

Hmm, so all she knows is that he's a _special case_, and not because of the multiple revives. Now that I think about it, when I first saw Aqua and Kazuma their situation was quite _weird_. This is all confusing, yet intriguing.

Thinking about it, Aqua had mentioned Eris quite a bit, and she's always mention something about-

"Hey Eris, do you pad your chest?", I asked out of curiosity

Eris didn't quite appreciate the question however, quickly becoming flustered

"Aqua said to quite a few people that you did, so I was just curious is she was right"

Eris quickly snapped out of her flustered state and looked quite annoyed

"Oh, of course it was Senpai spreading those rumors"

"So you don't then?"

Eris pouted and looked away, not wanting to answer

"How about a way I can make my breasts bigger?"

Eris looked back with a confused expression across her face

"Why would you want to do that? You're perfect as it is, and besides, there isn't any magic that would make your breasts bigger"

I slumped down showing signs of disappointment, then shot back up asking another question

"Well what about future me and Kazuma? D-do we end up having… a child?"

Eris rubbed her fingers to her temples saying

"I swear, haven't you been listening? I can't look into the future-"

I began to slump back down at this revelation before Eris continued

"However if I were to guess, and let's say you did have a child, I'd say you would have a beautiful daughter"

I perked up after hearing her say this, it wasn't quite the confirmation I was hoping to hear, but it was nice to have Eris' input

Shortly after Eris finished Aqua's voice once again echoed across the room

"Oi Megumin, you're healed so you can revive now, both thanks to me"

"Ah, thanks Aqua, but can I have a minute? I'd like to ask some more questions to Eris"

"Ehhhh?"

Eris called from the other side of the room

"I've been saying you need to revive soon so I can tend to others who have fallen, you can't just hang out here"

I decide to ignore Eris' remark

"And besides, Kazuma's gonna get mad at me if you don't come back"

Uh oh, why do I feel like Aqua just said something she definitely shouldn't of

"Oi Kazuma, what are you doing?"

"_Wait there's no way he'd…_"

"Kazuma, I'd always known you were a scumbag, but I never knew you had this side to you. I always knew you were a pervert, but never thought you'd be doing _this_ "

"_Oi what's he doing?"_ I shouldn't have to worry too much though, surely Aqua's going to stop whatever it is he's-

"Ow ow ow, Okay I'll leave jeez, she's able to come back now anyways, so I can't do much else. Anyways if I hurry I should be able to make it back to the Eris Church for when their mass ends!"

Wait, she's _leaving me? _I… I gotta get back there **now**

"Eris, Eris can you send me back now-?"

I look over and notice she's giggling

"What's so funny about this?" I asked, slightly frustrated

"I'll send you back now, be safe in the future Megumin"

As I slowly rose towards a bright light, I further questioned her

"Wait, what's so funny about this situation, as we speak, Kazuma's-"

Eris cuts me off loudly giggling, trying her best to keep quiet

"You shouldn't worry too much Megumin, anyways, I hope I don't see you here any time soon, safe travels"

She smiled waving me farewell, and before I could do anything else I was engulfed in a bright light, my consciousness eventually fading

Thank you to those who've been reading my story so far  
Originally wasn't planning on writing, but was encouraged  
to try writing and hey, I've been enjoying it so far, as I hope  
You're enjoying the story. School might come up in the future  
and I write slowly as it is, so uploads may be inconsistent, but  
I'll try to continue onwards

Thanks again for checking my story out


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Editing: EddyBT

* * *

**Part 1**

My consciousness abruptly returned to me with the feeling in my body slowly following.

Reviving didn't hurt like I thought it might, but it was certainly disorienting. How did Kazuma manage to get used to this?

Oh right! I'm in this situation because Kazuma was doing something dangerous while I was in heaven.

As I went to rub my eyes I felt my arms get stopped by something. Actually, it wasn't just my arms, something was holding my body in a tight embrace.

I opened my eyes to see Kazuma hugging me tightly, which made me blush slightly.

So he really wasn't doing anything to me while I was gone?

Shortly after my attempt to move, Kazuma noticed I was awake. He looked down at me and we made eye contact.

His eyes were red, was he… crying?

I guess I was so caught up in meeting Eris that I didn't consider what he was going through during all this.

Seeing him in this state I returned the favor and gently hugged him back.

Instead of the content reaction I was expecting, he started shaking me.

"What were you thinking, you idiot? How could you even consider not coming back after all we've been through!"

Well there's the Kazuma I know, and something seemed off about what he just said.

"I never said I wasn't coming back! I just wanted to talk with Eris for a little longer."

"Wait, but Aqua said that-"

Kazuma slowly placed his hands on his temples and started massaging them slowly.

"Goddamnit, I should have known it was just Aqua being stupid again"

Shortly after he slumped down on the couch next to where I was laying, panting heavily.

"Hey, are you sure nothing happened while I was gone?"

Kazuma looked back, offended by the inquiry.

"No, why would-?"

"Then why are you so out of breath?"

Kazuma looked at me again, this time slightly calmer, but definitely impatient.

"I've been running all over the place trying to get you revived, and now I can barely move!"

Kazuma then attempted to get back up from the couch.

"Okay correction, I can no longer move. Looks like my adrenaline's finally given out. Coincidentally I feel like I'm going to pass out"

"Wait, what exactly happened on your end after I was uhh-"

Before I could finish, Kazuma continued in my place.

"Well whatever it was that got you kept running through the forest, looked to be a one-shot-kill bear. My guess is that it didn't mean to kill you, which is why my Detect Enemy didn't go off. Well, that's my theory for it at least"

"Then what happened after the encounter?"

"I ended up bringing you back to the mansion and going out to find Aqua. Thankfully she's as predictable as ever."

"And she was-?"

"Bothering Eris' followers, honestly. I knew it was either that or she was wandering around town considering she'd already visited Wiz at some point today, judging by the miserable state Zereschrute was in."

He continues:

"Yeah, I finally found her at the Eris Church, the interaction went something like…"  
~~~~~~~

"Oi! Shitty-Neet! What do you think you're doing dragging me away from my work?"

"And how many times have I told you I need you back at the mansion, and that bothering other faiths doesn't count as work you know!"

"It so does! As a Goddess it's my duty to bring people towards the right side you know? I don't know what they all see in that overrated Goddess Eris!"

I gave Aqua a deadpan stare.

"Eris is more of a Goddess than you'll ever be, and hey, she's in heaven right now while you're down here, so what do you have to say to that all mighty Goddess?"

Aqua started lashing out at me while crying hysterically.

"O-Oh yeah?! Well I'll go contact Eris right now, and have this 'better Goddess' smite you down. Since I'm her Senpai she'll have to do what I say!"  
~~~~~~~

"Yeah, after Aqua contacted you two she was willing to cooperate. With her no longer resisting staying behind she eventually came back with me to the mansion where she revived you and then made fun of me for worrying. I ended up shooing her away."

"Ah, that's why she didn't resist. It was for my sake."

"For your sake?"

Kazuma shot me a depressed look.

"Do you really still not trust me? I know I've been bad but c'mon even I have limits, jeez!"

I guess I should've put more trust in him. He's always acted rash but ended up being spineless when it comes to committing to these kinds of things after all.

"But that reminds me."

Hmm?

"When you went to heaven you met Eris right?"

"Yeah, while we waited she offered to answer my questions, but was unable to most of them."

Kazuma gave me a suspicious look.

"Are you sure you weren't giving her impossible questions?"

"Well of course I didn't, she's a Goddess after all, she should know everything!"

"I know for certain Goddesses don't know everything, and did you even give her time to answer all your questions?"

"Well… I think I did at least."

Kazuma sighed and gave up on leaning up, collapsing back onto the couch.

"So you're really alright after all this? Nothing wrong?"

"Well…"

I went to quickly inspect myself.

"No, I feel great surprisingly. No injuries left, I guess Aqua really does have a grasp on reviving people."

"Well that's good to hear. I'm completely drained right now, so I'm just gonna nap for a while and try to get some energy back."

"Oh? Well I'm quite tired myself after today, so I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I joined you?"

"Ehhh? But the couch is so cramped, and hey, what's to say I don't do something now huh?"

"If I remember correctly you're unable to move anyway, and besides, I'm starting to trust that you do have these limits."

Kazuma looked conflicted but eventually came to a conclusion.

"Alright fine, but don't complain if anything happens."

"Well alright then."

I said while snuggling beside him, continuing with:

"I won't have to complain, since nothing's gonna happen."

"Hey, you never-"

Before I could hear him finish, I ended up closing my eyes and drifting off.

In the end they both ended up sleeping peacefully.

**Part 2**

I slowly opened my eyes as I woke from my slumber. I remember going for a nap earlier, but judging from the warm light coming into the room it had already gone a bit into the evening.

As I leaned up I felt some resistance. Looking to my side I saw Megumin holding onto my arm. Wait, what's she doi-

Right, the revive scene earlier. Damn, it's hard to believe I'd forget about something like that, but whatever. Probably a side effect to pushing my body further that it's used to.

Either way, the touching scene is not quite something I'm used to, which I'm sure is reflecting on the light blush I'm wearing right now.

"I guess I'll try to get up and not disturb her sleep."

After a painfully slow accent from the couch onto the carpeted floor, I made my way to the kitchen to get myself something to eat. Unsurprisingly after all this, I was extremely hungry.

Unfortunately for me, the kitchen was mostly emptied of any food items.

Ugh, because of course we had to run out of food today of all days.

I guess I'll be going out to eat. Before I go I better get Megumin, I'm sure she's hungry as well.

Making my way back over to the living room, I see Megumin sitting up on the couch rubbing her eyes.

"Hey, I'm going out for food since the kitchen's nearly empty, you wanna come?"

"Mmn? Oh sure, just give me a little to get ready."

"Fine, but you better not take too long, I'm starving!"

"And do you think I'm not? Just give me a couple minutes I'll meet you at the door!"

"Alright, but you better not take too long!"

After waiting a few minutes, Megumin finally emerged from around the corner wearing her familiar black dress.

"Oh? What's with the get-up? We're only going out to eat."

"Yeah well, my adventuring gear is still dirty from earlier, and besides. This is sort of a date isn't it?"

I could feel my face heat up a little.

"Y-yeah, well I wasn't planning on going anywhere fancy, just-"

"I'm sure where ever we eat will be fine"

As she said I could feel her arm wrapping around mine.

This girl, where'd all this confidence come from?

After that awkward interaction we made our way towards town, browsing for a place to pick up a meal.

While browsing I thought about the events that transpired earlier, and ended up thinking of some more questions..

"Hey Megumin?"

"Hmmm?"

"What was it like?"

"What was it like?"

"Well... dying. you seemed to take the entire thing pretty well."

"...Oh. Well, other than the initial pain, which I mean now I understand why you complain, it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be."

"Well, it's good to hear it hasn't affected you too much."

Actually now that I think about it, the sudden confidence probably sprung up from the event.

"Yeah, I'm more curious about what a one-shot-kill bear was doing in that part of the woods. Normally there aren't any monsters in the area."

"I was wondering the same thing myself. Hey, since it's not too late why don't we visit Wiz's after eating? Maybe Vanir could answer some of our questions."

"Hmm, that is a tempting , why not? And hey, maybe we'll run into Aqua on the way."

Oh right, now that she mentions it, Aqua has yet to return from her day of 'work'. If anything we'd be lucky to avoid whatever attention she's getting right about now.

In the end we couldn't decide on any outside places to eat and got something from the guild as per usual.

Arriving at Wiz's shop my attention immediately set on the blue thing of trouble I was hoping to avoid earlier.

"Oi, what do you mean Wiz still isn't here? This is my second time visiting today and she's still avoiding me! Not to mention the disrespect you've shown to one of your most valuable customers!"

"O hopeless archpriest, you have lost all due respect through your actions and mere nature, and it would be greatly appreciated if you would stop killing my flippered servant!"

Looking around the store it seems that Zereschrute had gone from gloomily sweeping a corner to hiding out of sight, presumably a back room.

It's hard not to feel bad for the guy despite what he's done up to this point.

"Oh, if it isn't the brat and his beloved companion. Would it be too much work for you to keep this accursed blue demon out of our store!"

"Oi Kazuma, this jerk keeps trying to kick me out, come over here and back me u-"

I walked towards Vanir nudging Aqua out of the way.

"Oi Neet! What do you think you're doing!"

"Anyways, Vanir, I'm sure you've already foreseen why we're here so I'll skip the formalities and just ask this. If you foresaw what happened in the forest why not warn us directly?!"

As I began to yell at Vanir, Megumin and Aqua went around browsing the shop, with Vanir keeping an eye on Aqua as we conversed.

"Oh ho my tragic hero, I did not foresee whatever event you may speak of, all I offered was some friendly advice before you left. Wouldn't want any falling related accidents would we?"

Vanir was saying all this through a wide grin, meaning he was just messing with me, so I'll try to maintain my composure.

"Well if you didn't foresee the accident in the forest…"

Yeah right he didn't.

"...then what was the one-shot-kill bear doing near us anyway?"

"Oh ho, well if this isn't the perfect opportunity for moi."

well this is the one time moi is grammatically correct so I guess I'll keep it

Uh oh, why I get a feeling he's-

"You see, the wretched shopkeep has piled up more of the typical useless items, and you are in need of information. How about you buy this new backwards stock off moi, and I'll tell you what you need to know"

Yeah I knew he'd try to profit off this somehow, damn. Guess I'll go with it.

"Ugh, much for the items?"

"Just a measly 10,000 Eris. It shouldn't be a problem for you, yes?"

"Yeah that's fine, what did Wiz even buy anyway?"

"They're toy earplugs that amplify sound so you can hear things quite far away from yourself."

"The downside being?"

"It amplifies all sound, and a little too well at that. So it would seem you can't hear one specific thing and it just ends up giving you a migraine. In worse case scenarios you could go deaf for a short period of time."

Jeez, where does Wiz even find this stuff?

"Yes I cannot exactly sell these to the general public, as the side effects are too harmful to market."

"Yeah yeah, well that's enough about these things, what's going on with the forest?"

"Quite anxious to find out hmm? Well lets see… Ah, it seems someone has moved quite the monster into the area."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh yes, it seems someone has disturbed the wildlife by introducing a despicable monster to the habitat. What monster you may ask? Well, that information shall come with three easy payments of 50,000 Eris!"

"Ah forget it, can you at least tell me if we could handle the thing?"

"Of course you could handle said creature, but whether or not your companions can? Mwahahahah, well I guess you'll find out on your own then."

As Vanir breaks down into laughter once more I slowly leave the shop taking Megumin and Aqua with me.

So something has been moved into the forest, and that's what's scaring off monsters?

"Hey Kazuma, did you get any information out of Vanir?"

"Oh yeah, kind of. All he told me was someone moved a monster into the forest and it was disturbing the wildlife."

"Anything else?"

"Apparently I'll be able to handle it, but he wouldn't tell me if you guys could."

"Ugh, I don't like this. Getting involved with him usually doesn't turn out poorly, but his lack of straight answers never feels right."

"Yeah, all I do know is we're waiting for Darkness to get back before we go deal with whatever's disturbing the forest."

Megumin looked at me with a confused, yet happy expression.

"Wait really? I thought you'd use this as an excuse to stay inside, and ultimately try to just avoid the issue completely."

How low does everyone think of me?! Typically I might've done something like that, but it's different this time!

"Well, I guess I have a reason to go after it. Think of this as a revenge quest of sorts."

Upon hearing revenge, Megumin's eyes lit up a bright red.

"Ohho, revenge? This perfectly appeals to my Crimson Demon senses! It will be a hard fought battle, and we shall embark early tomorrow-"

"Hold it! We're not going until Darkness gets back, got it? She shouldn't be gone for too much longer, so let's just wait until then."

"Hmn, fine. Sorry I just got a little over excited there."

Finally we approached the mansion, and after the day I've had I cannot wait to go lay in my room.

At this point it'd started getting fully dark, so we all headed off to bed. Considering Darkness hadn't gotten back yet, I assumed she'd be back tomorrow.

I guess that gives me time to think about the situation ahead of us and the main, lingering question left in my head.

Just what kind of monster are we dealing with here?


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

**Part 1**

After an uneasy night worrying about what was to come I eventually got some rest, reassuring myself that Darkness wouldn't be back for a couple of days. Since as far as she was aware we didn't have anything planned.

Yeah, she'll probably spend a few days there before saying goodbye to Sylphina.

Ugh, I probably shouldn't have gone so 'gung ho' in promising a revenge quest ASAP

Sure I wanted whatever it was that eliminated many explosion spots (mainly close ones) gone, but now that I'm thinking about it I really don't feel like fighting anything crazy right now.

I've had too much to worry about recently and was about to get a break, but now I've been thrown into yet another predicament.

Hopefully Darkness stays home as long as possible.

Leaving my room I start wandering down the hallways.

Peeking into the living room it seems everyone else is already up, with Megumin feeding Chomusuke and Aqua attempting to pet Zell with little to no luck.

I decided to take the opportunity to make myself something for breakfast, ending up with just some scrambled eggs and toast.

Heading back to the living room I could still see Aqua continuing in her struggle to comfort Zell, but there was also-

_Megumin talking to Darkness?!_

Why is Darkness back so soon? And…

Walking into the living room I could see that alongside Darkness was Sylphina.

"What are you two doing back so soon!?"

"Oh Kazuma, what's wrong? The way you ask makes it sound like you didn't want us back here…"

Calming myself down to keep Darkness from suspecting anything.

"No no, I was just… surprised to see you back so soon. Figured you would stay home for a while"

"Oh that. Well I originally planned on staying back for a few days and spending time with Sylphina and father before saying goodbye, but he was busy with business so we just stayed the night"

"So why's she back here now?"

"Well I figured she might as well spend a bit more time with us while we wait for him to finish up his work. She was awfully bored at home."

"And how long is that 'business' going to take?"

"Should only take a couple of days, why?"

"Well uhh..."

Even if I wanted to rush into this revenge quest. Darkness having brought Sylphina back with her is going to be a bit of a problem.

I guess we could always just drop her off somewhere.

Megumin who had been quiet so far jumps in for me.

"We were going on a revenge quest and would like your help"

Darkness seemed confused by her statement.

"A revenge quest? What is it you have to avenge?"

"Well while you were gone me and Megumin went on her daily explosion routine per usual, and along the way, we encountered a one-shot-kill bear-"

"You mean one-_hit_-kill bear?"

Oh guess I got the name wrong. Must've been the 'LEET Speech' messing with my terminology.

"Yeah, and can I continue without you interrupting?"

"Well of-course."

"Anyway we encountered a _one-hit-kill_ bear and it… got to Megumin"

Darkness then directed her attention to Megumin.

"Wait while I was gone you died!?"

"Of course, it's only natural as a-"

Megumin looked up to see Darkness had a concerned look across her face. Seeing that I guess she cut the chunibyo from her speech.

"It wasn't all bad. If anything it was probably worse for Kazuma since he had to get me revived"

"It most certainly was worse for me! Don't you remember the state I was in yesterday?"

"_Hmmn_, Anyway I ended up just having a conversation with Eris until I was eventually revived"

Darkness seemed taken aback.

"I'm sorry what?"

"While I waited to revive I got to talk to Eris-"

"You Met Eris!?"

"Yeah, she was pretty nice, kinda seemed a tad useless. She couldn't even answer most of my questions"

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony, continuing from where Megumin left off

"Yeah I guess I've never told you guys what happens while I'm waiting to get revived, and at this point Darkness is the only one who's never been to heaven."

"Well what happens to you normally!?"

"Well not much. I'm not normally offered a Q&A session by Eris, so it's usually her just comforting me or giving some info. It always ends with Aqua yelling into the void, and then me reviving."

Darkness seemed completely taken aback by what she was hearing.

"So you're telling me… that you've met the Goddess I've faithfully worshipped all my life 5 times… and you've never bothered telling me!?"

Oh right maybe I should've mentioned it to her.

Just as Darkness started looking legitimately mad at me Sylphina ran over thanks to the yelling.

"Mommy Mommy, what's wrong? You're getting the super angry look again"

Thanks to Sylphina Darkness was able to (somewhat) calm down.

"Oh, no it's nothing dear"

Darkness shot a death glare at me before comforting Sylphina

Yup, just I suspected she's gonna be mad at me for a while. My bad

Continuing past the outburst earlier, Megumin spoke up

"So Darkness. When would you be willing to accompany us on this revenge quest?"

"I refuse"

"..."

"Ehhhhhhhh?"

"Just as I said. I'm not going on your revenge trip until I get Sylphina back home, and she's not going back until father's done"

"But can't you just leave Sylphina at the mansion? We won't be gone for too long"

"I'm not leaving her home alone! She may be able to handle it but, again, I'd like to spend time with her"

Darkness' somewhat harsh rejections seemed to be leaving Megumin in a glum state

What would get Darkness on our side…

"We could always leave Sylphina with Vanir and Wiz, they're great with kids"

Darkness seemed to ponder it for a second

"Well we _could_ but why would I want to?"

Megumin interjected

"Think about it. Wouldn't we be doing a great service to Axel? After all there is a powerful creature disturbing the forest nearby"

"P-powerful?"

Oh of course, why didn't I lead with this?

"Well of course. We encountered a one-_hit_-kill bear that was running from something, surely whatever's out there would be miles stronger"

Darkness started to blush at the revelation

"S-str-stronger than a o-one-hit-kill…"

"Of course, just think about all the monsters we would encounter on the way"

"Alright you've convinced me, I'll go on your silly revenge quest. as long Sylphina is in Wiz's care"

"That's more like it!"

Megumin turned over towards the couch

"Aqua we're going on that quest I mentioned earlier"

"Eh? Why should I go on another one of your stupid quests? There isn't even a reward!"

"Aqua don't be like that, we could really use your help."

"And I don't see any point in going! That masked loser said Kazuma could handle whatever it was on his own anyway!"

"Yeah, and what about the other monster encounters?"

"Eh, Darkness will just taunt em like she always does, so you'll be fine"

Really? The one time Aqua decides to use her brain it's to get out of work. I should've expected as much from her

Guess I should try convincing her to come

"Hey Aqua. How about if you come on this quest with us I'll give you some Eris"

"Hmm? How much?"

"Around 1000"

"Only 1000 Eris? Do you really think my assistance is worth so little?"

Yes

"Well you already have an allowance, and the money I lend you sometimes. Where'd that go?"

"Well I'm not going if it's so little"

"Alright, 2000 Eris"

"Nope, not going. You'll have to find someone else willing to go"

Hmm?

"Alright then"

"Wait you're leaving without me"

"Well of-course _oh great goddess_. We wouldn't want to disturb your afternoon. It's just a shame we'll have to get another arch-priest to help us"

"Hey, wait-"

"And who knows? Maybe they'll be available more often. If they were we could just bring them along for now on"

Megumin then tugged on my sleeve and spoke to me in a whisper

"_Kazuma don't you think you're going a bit far"_

"_I don't know what else will work, besides I'm not actually going to replace her"_

Aqua pondered what I said for a moment

"Ha. You're bluffing, there's no way you'd actually find an arch-priest willing to help. Don't you remember when we were getting our adventuring cards? She said that available arch-priests are super rare!"

I pondered her counterpoint for a second, with it not taking long to think up a rebuttal

"Well it's just as you said it. I'd have to be pretty lucky for an arch-priest to be waiting around for someone to go adventuring with"

Aqua laughed out in victory. I guess she didn't get the point

"Thankfully for me, my luck stat is phenomenally high. With my luck stat working for me, and your abysmal luck stat working against you I have a decent feeling we'll find someone-"

Just then Aqua rushed off the couch into the hallway and presumably towards her room

"I'm getting changed, don't leave without me!"

"_Heh, too easy"_

**Part 2**

After getting ready I waited by the front of the mansion and the others slowly poured out with Aqua showing up last

"Alright looks like we're ready to head back into the forest, well mostly"

We still had one more stop to make

"Oh, if it isn't the brat and his dysfunctional crew of mess-ups. I see you're dropping off the mini-brat to go kill some inconspicuous monster in the forest"

Yup we had to drop off the others. This time however Wiz was present in the store, however she was too preoccupied to say anything to us

Rather she rushed to the back room, something seemed off about her...

Whatever,I can worry about that later, for now I should get _this_ task over with

"_Sigh._ Yes yes, now before we leave Sylphina and Zell in your care-"

"Oh? Who told you that this charming devil ran a daycare service on the side?"

"I'll buy out some of your useless product if you do"

"Well if that's the case then Vanir's babysitting for problem children will gladly take them off your hands"

"Alright, but before you go, let me ask you. Are we going to be-"

"Oh ho, there was no fortune telling mentioned in this daycare deal. However I would be more than happy to throw in a word of advice and a souvenir for the road as long as you buy out a couple crates of useless merchandise."

Not wanting an unpleasant fatal surprise, I complied

"Yeah sure, just tell me we'll be alright"

"Mwahahah poor choice of words, but you will be alright. However if I were you I'd keep an eye out for that crazed mage"

"Megumin? But you said that-"

"Mwahaha, well that's enough for now don't you say? I'd say you better get a move on. Oh and before I forget, here's your souvenir"

Vanir handed me a plain looking brown bag

"What's this supposed to be?"

"Ah ah ah. No questioning the all seeing devil"

Shrugging, I left the store with the others. Before leaving I could see Zell running over to stay with Vanir and Sylphina running into the back to meet Wiz

Good to know they'll be happy at least

Now we were on our way towards the forest, with Darkness eventually breaking the silence

"So what exactly happened while I was gone anyway?"

Guess I'll summ it up since I was alive the whole time

"Well we just went out for Megumin's daily Explosion. After she cast, a one-hit-kill bear sprinted out of the forest taking her out and continuing deeper into the forest"

"What happened after that?"

"I carried Megumin back to the mansion and went to get Aqua to revive her"

"And you should be more grateful I came when I did! I was busy you know"

"Oi. You needed an intervention from a real goddess to get you back to the mansion"

"Real Goddess!?

"Anyway, after that I eventually got some information out of Vanir and now here we are."

After a bit more walking we were standing at the entrance to the forest where the presumed monster was

"Alright guys be careful from here on, don't want to take any chances"

"Oh but I thought your luck was _incredible _Kazuma-san"

"Yes. _My _luck is incredible, or rather it's supposed to be, but yours isn't. That's why I want you to keep an eye out"

"Yeah yeah whatever. That masked freak said we'd be fine, so I shouldn't have to worry right?"

Yeah I guess he did say that. Yet he warned me about Megumin…

What's his deal this time?

Strangely enough as we walked through the forest we had yet to encounter anything, yet we were almost halfway to the center

"Kazuma can you see anything around here?"

Activating farsight showed there was nothing around us with enemy detect not activating either.

"This is strange. Maybe whatever drove that one-hit-kill bear away wiped out all the monsters in the forest"

Megumin had a point, however the likelihood of her prediction seemed to depress Darkness for only a second with her quickly coming to a realization

"That means whatever wiped the forest is even stronger than we thought?"

Uh oh.

"Hehehe. I've been saving explosions for this quest, whatever monster took me down will feel my wrath!"

"But you just used Explosion yesterday? I hardly call less than a day of waiting 'saving' a one per day spell"

"You may have a point. However I'm ready to go all out on whatever's waiting for us"

Oh no. This is probably what Vanir meant by 'keeping an eye on her'… But we all turn out fine in the end right?

Ugh I hate not knowing my exact fate

Damn that all seeing devil!

Using farsight to check the surrounds I could see a small opening a bit ahead of us

"Oi guys we're getting close. Get ready to face whatever's-"

Upon looking into what was in that opening…

No it couldn't be. How could it be?

I was just seeing things I'm sure

…

As we walked into the opening, the monster greeted us with-

"Oh..._welcome _adventures… what brings you here?"

You've got to be kidding me

The monster Vanir was hyping up was a Tranquility Princess?

I guess that's what he meant when he said _I'd_ be fine

Seeing what sat in front of us Aqua walked ahead of us and looked between us and the princess finally looking back at us

"Really? _This _is the disturbance in the forest? Some measly tranquility princess?"

Looking back at the princess she continues

"So you can just show you're nothing to worry about so we can just get a move on-"

"Excuse me!?"

Wait, what?

"_Measly_? I'd think I'm a bit more significant a threat than you. I'm a tranquility princess, and you're just some arrogant mortal"

Everyone else seemed shocked at the princess' sudden outburst. I was of course surprised but only because it took to little to break her facade

Megumin then decided to step in

"Oi you can't just insult my teammate like that! You really are different to those other tranquility monsters-"

"Oh so you've dealt with my breed of 'monster' before huh? Lemme guess. Scummy looking guy in the back finished them off?"

Ah figures. The tranquility monsters have never been too fond of my presence

This one just isn't as good at hiding it

It seems Megumin was quickly getting fed up of her insults to our party

However she was holding back her anger instead of blowing the area to hell

I guess she didn't want her image of the tranquility monsters to break

"I would appreciate if you wouldn't insult my party members any further-"

"And what are _you _going to do about it? Upon you're closer you're a crimson demon aren't you? So that'd mean you're some crazed lonely loser right? If I say a few nice words you'll bend to my every will right?"

"Alright this is clearly a rotten tranquility princess. Kazuma, can I blow it up?"

"All of the tranquility monsters were rotten but you all never believe me! And after we back up go ahead"

As me Megumin and Aqua started to leave the clearing Darkness stopped us

"Before you leave to exterminate this princess allow me to have a word with her first"

"Oh... uhh sure Darkness"

She turned back around and faced the Tranquility princess

"Do you have any insults for me?"

The princess shrugged off her question

"Don't really have anything. You just look like some noble weirdo. Now can you take your sad excuse for companions and leave me alone!?"

Darkness ran back over to us panting

"Ahha. She didn't even bother thinking of an insult for me."

We left the clearing and made sure there was a bit of area between us and the princess before Megumin started casting Explosion

This was clearly disturbing the princess as the mana gathered around her

I couldn't quite hear what she was saying, luckily I could read lips

"Wait you people aren't going to kill me off are you? I haven't even done anything yet!"

Like hell you haven't.

As more and more mana flowed into the area I also quickly became concerned

"Hey, Megumin. How big are you planning on making this explosion?"

"Ohho, what a silly question Kazuma. I'm gonna go all out with this one"

"What!? Are you crazy? You take us out too!"

"For a master of explosion magic like myself that won't be an issue"

"Yeah but this is starting to get concerning. If you don't cast explosion now I'll be sealing it away for all of next week"

"Hey that's not fair! That princess is the reason I died! At least let me have this."

"It won't mean anything if you take us all out too!"

"Don't worry I've got it under control. You're a fellow explosion connoisseur Kazuma, you should know better."

"Oi it's because I'm a 'connoisseur' of the spell I'm worried"

"Uh not to interrupt your bickering but doesn't it look like the Tranquility Princess is begging for forgiveness?"

"Well it's a bit late now don't you think? Megumin's about to let off a massive-"

"EXPLOSION!"

The explosion completely decimated the area around us

Shaking off the dizziness the massive blast ensued and looking around there was a massive crater in front of me with husks of trees scattered around me

What was a clearing that housed the Tranquility Princess was now a massive hole in the earth

To my right was a collapsed Megumin with Aqua and Darkness on the left behind me.

"So how many points was that explosion worth Kazuma?"

"35 points"

"Ehhhh!? Why would a blast that magnificent be worth only 35 points!?"

"It was magnificent, yes, but it not only put us in danger. It completely decimated the area in an ugly way. Therefore it's worth for me 35 points"

Megumin only responded to my criticisms with a pout

I guess she couldn't refute my points

Well now that our encounter with the Tranquility Princess had ended we should head back to pick up Zell and Sylphina

**Part 3**

Returning to Wiz's store we could see Vanir stocking shelves with Zell on his shoulder and I could faintly hear Sylphina laughing in the background

"Yo, we're back"

"Ah the brat's finished with his pointless skirmish has he?"

"Hey it wasn't completely pointless. We cleared out another one of those awful tranquility girls."

"Oi, Those other tranquility girls were fine, you were just too heartless to let them live."

"Aqua, they would have definitely lured someone else into their trap. Besides after all that it's you can't still believe they're all pure"

"Nope. It was just the one bad egg. It'd be hard to believe you're not the one at fault here."

Having enough of Aqua's stupidity I left her for Wiz to serve and headed over to Vanir.

Megumin drifted off to browse some of the new products layed out while Darkness went towards the back, presumably looking for Sylphina

"So where's she?"

"Hmm? Oh you must be referring to the plot device. Well she's in the back preoccupied by our resident debt collector. You really should drop her off more, keeping that Lich busy does wonders for business"

"Ah, but I'm pretty sure she's leaving to stay at Darkness' place in a few days"

"Ah a shame she can't stay around any longer. Just as much of a shame you should be on your way. You seem to have another encounter on your way."

"Wait really? Why's all of this happening today?"

"Ohho bold of you to assume that this is unrelated to what's taken place today"

"Wait wha-"

"Anyway you can take the chicken and the distraction and allow moi to continue stocking shelves"

"I...uhh... Sure"

Lightly grabbing Zell off Vanir's shoulder I leave for the backroom to get Darkness and Sylphina before Darkness reappears in the main part of the store with Sylphina

"Alright Aqua we're leaving"

"Ehh? Already? I haven't even gotten my tea yet!"

"Wiz is probably tired out after babysitting. Just leave without the tea"

"Oi, she's lucky I let her stay around. Besides if you're so stubborn on leaving now why not just leave without me?"

"Because apparently we've got some other something lined up for today"

"Oh? So you need the help of a Goddess do you? Well if it's not worth my time I'm leaving you and coming back"

"Sure whatever. Just c'mon"

Walking out of the store I begin to ponder

What other 'encounter' could we have after that?

"Megumin!"

As if to answer my question Yunyun comes running from the distance

"Oh if it isn't my rival. Here to challenge me to another duel, eh? Well too bad! We're-"

As Yunyun finally appeared in front of us she started shaking Megumin cutting her off

"I saw that explosion earlier! You better not have killed her!"

Aqua looked between the nearly breaking down Yunyun and Megumin

"Alright, I'm going back in"

After Aqua rudely walked through them back into the store, I continued.

"So Yunyun, The 'her' you're talking about. Was she the Tranquility princess Megumin blew up?"

Yunyun then angrly looked over to Megumin

"Why'd you have to go and do that? It's not like she was bothering anyone! She was my f-fr-friend"

"Oh you poor fool. Truly any real Crimson Demon would be able to see through some Tranquility girl's ruse"

"Oi you were deceived by the other 2 I had to deal with!"

"Ehem! As I was saying I don't know how you got fooled by the foul creature, but she definitely wasn't your friend"

Yunyun started softly sobbing as Megumin spoke

"I can't believe she would just use me like that… I spent so much time clearing the area for her and now she's been taken out anyway"

"Wait can you repeat that?"

Yunyun curiously looked up at me

"I cleared out the area of monsters. A few got away from me but I wanted to make sure.."

"Ahhhhhh I should have known! That's why all this began! I knew a tranquil girl wouldn't have been capable of scaring _that_ away!"

"Oh did I cause you trouble? I'm really sorry! I didn't mean for any monsters to get away. It's just that some of them can run so fast, it's hard to aim when they're bolting away through the trees. If you don't mind me asking what happened?"

Megumin put one of her hands to Yunyun's shoulder

"Well one of the rampaging monsters forced me to use one of my many lives"

"Wait you died!?"

Megumin then went on to tell her own spin of the events that took place, changing the occasional detail. Like how she 'killed the wicked beast in her dying breath' and 'Outsmarted Eris into reviving her'. All while Yunyun was trying to comfort her

I thought it best to leave her version of the story alone

After they finished their talk and Yunyun left, we were about set to go that's left would be to pick up Aqua, but after refusing to leave without her tea and snacks, I decided to leave her there.

On the way home, Sylphina and Darkness we're talking. The continued 'Mommy Mommy" from Sylphina was picked up on by a few regulars from the Guild.

I wonder how that'll work out for Darkness' reputation there?

Leaving Darkness to her conversation, I turned over to Megumin.

"So, after all this I'm guessing you'll want to take a break from the explosion routine for a few days right?"

"Are you kidding me? The mastery of Explosion isn't something that can wait! Not even death can stop the beauty that is Explosion"

"Wait really? You aren't at all traumatized by these recent events?"

"Well unlike you Kazuma, I'm not going to use this as an excuse to laze around. Besides I wouldn't even want that to begin with."

I guess it's a bit annoying that I'm not getting a break from that routine but it's good to see she's still acting herself

"Besides, you can always ask Vanir if anything will happen right?"

"Ah right. I guess I'll talk to him about it tomorrow and try to make a deal or something"

After all this I can only wonder what tomorrow has in store

Ideally nothing troublesome

Oh yeah and there's also something up with Wiz, but I guess I'll leave that for another day. Really don't feel like dealing with that right now.

Returning home I went back to my room and started putting my gear away.

As I was putting things away I remembered the 'souvenir' Vanir gave me

Opening the brown bag there was a decent sized glass bottle with some green liquid in it

Turning the bottle around revealed a label sporting the text 'weed killer'

…

Sometimes I wonder if I should just stop interacting with that all-seeing devil

* * *

**Authors Note:**

Thank you all so much for keeping up with my story 3  
I'm sincerely sorry that this chapter has taken so long to get out  
I'll try to keep this short but with everything that's been happening lately and a couple of plunges in my mental health, development of this chapter has been rough  
In short I've been stuck in a cycle of feeling like crap for resting and not working, but being barely able to work on the chapter thanks to my mental

I don't want it to seem like I'm making excuses I just hope you all understand.  
One last thing before I go. If anyone's interested I'll be participating in a short story contest taking place in Boring Bone's discord server.

It's alot of fun and I recommend you come check it out, just go over to their profile on here. The lastest Short Story compilation will tell u how to join the server

Anyway that's enough rambling from me, Thank you all so much for keeping up with the story and I hope to deliver more soon (btw there will be an epilogue eventually, hopefully much sooner than this chapter lol) 3


End file.
